Heroes

I'm writing this review now even though I haven't seen an episode since it got canceled almost 15 years ago. My brother and I were recently talking about this show and it drudged up some old memories I've had for this show, both good and bad. The good: the first season was brilliant. I remember early reviews and word of mouth talking how about how this show was going to be a classic. And it might have if the quality box the first season carried over to the rest. I didn't hate the other seasons, it just wasn't as good as the first. It has an original feel for a superhero show. It didn't have any costumes or anything like that, it was ordinary people reacting like real people who were getting super powers. Some good and some bad. If you're a fan of this genre then give this a try because it's worth a watch.

I am writing after a mere 4 episodes in season one and I probably have nothing to say that has not been said by others in terms of praise and admiration. Still, writing this review 13 or so years after it ended, I am aware of the various doom and gloom disappointments in the show as it progressed. And I am here to either defend this or to heap additional blame. For years if not decades, the Hollywood habit has been to destroy beauty. I am not talking about sucking franchises dry with woke agendae, although that certainly is one of the symptoms. I am talking about the deliberate or accidental process of adding needless complexity, darkness, conflict, and unhappiness of all kinds. This even happens, remarkably, with sitcoms. It happens in every genre. But Heroes was destined for this destruction from its inception, because Hollywood hates virtue. What is most interesting about this process is that Hollywood will actually break its own craftsmanship rules, ie, continuity, in order to pursue the goal. Whether this is laziness, stupidity, or contempt for the consumer probably doesn't matter. From Young Sheldon to Game of Thrones, from New Girl to House to House of Cards to Cheers to Friends, this mechanism runs from fairly subtle to brutally obvious. I don't know when this started but I don't think, for instance, that Bonanza pulled this crap. In more recent times, Big Bang may have actually reversed the formula, moving from sad selfish characters to radically improved versions of themselves.

Anyway, most say that Heroes started well and couldn't maintain. Some say it pulled out of the nosedive in later seasons.

I shall see.

Season One was excellent, but the writer's strike Mid-Season Two made for a clumsy unanticipated finale. Unfortunately, the series suffered as a result and never fully recovered with many writing inconsistencies that followed. My rating reflects the goodwill and potential based on the first season and took -1 per season that followed.

Actually, this is no good for anything less than binging. Unlike many serries' which have the standard formula of each episode or two completing a start and finish problem with a tad of long-term problem for the next episode to the end, this presentation of "Heroes" 2006-2010 is one long narrative.

There is a fun side to this program as it does not take you long to notice that all the supposedly "foreign" people are in reality American actors.

Many of the actors come from other series some are: Masi Oka (Max Bergman in Hawaii Five-0) James Kyson (Sean Leung in Hawaii Five-0) George Takei (Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek) Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in Star Trek) Zachary Quinto (Spock in Star Trek movies 2009, 2013, and 2016) Sendhil Ramamurthy (Jai Wilcox in Covert Affairs) Many others will surprise you.

Unlike the episodes the season year ends do take the time and energy to wrap up the story just in case that is the last season. The exception of courses the last season that was getting a little long in the tooth and quits while in full fun. Still watch to the end and you will not feel they left you with a cliff hanger of the feel that this has been a pilot all along.

The series is split into something called "Volumes" that do not match the episode numbers.

The series gets to be a tad Hallmark near the end and they start doing weird skit and too many time travel episodes towards the end; if you can call it an.

Well as we all know Season 1 is by far the best because of its simple yet effective premise and endearing characters. There is indeed a noticeable drop in quality in the following Seasons but that doesn't make them bad. I honestly don't understand why the show was cancelled, it still had potential.

I remember hating Season 4 when I first saw it but I watched it again and it's not that bad. It's a very mixed bag and kind of all over the place, it should have been shorter like Season 2 and more focused on Samuel (who is an interesting villain and very well played) so the writers did screw up by having too many things going on at the same time and therefore losing track of the main story. Still I feel the last episode was satisfying.